GreenFire
by mariekeverhalen
Summary: The animal stunt crew "GreenFire", hired for a big production, choses Horseland as their H.Q. for the time filming. While the kids have a wonderfull time, Will finds himeself frequently asking the question "What if...?". What if his parents didn't die? What if he didn't work so hard? What if he would chose an equestrian career? What if he would chose GreenFire over Horseland?
1. Leaving

**So...new old story which keeps getting back. Seems like a sign to finnish it. GreenFire is a bit cheesier than my other stories, considering the upcoming love triangle, but hey, it's Horseland and they have a sense for the kind of drama I usually don't write. Also, this is another atempt to get better English writing skills. So beware, dear readers, when words and sayings seems a bit weird. I may have used google translate or my beautiful Dutch-English.  
**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story and will leave a review.**

 **Idelle**

* * *

A muddy jeep with an even more muddy trailer came from the road to drive straight to Horseland. At that moment all the well-known riders of the equestrian school were training in the arena, but they stopped, curious to see who the unannounced newcomer was. Together with them, the other people at Horseland gathered; Will, who was always doing maintenance work at this hour, the owners John and Ava Marie Handler (Bailey's parents) and foreman Barto Rodriguez (Alma's father).

With question marks above their head, the young riders looked at Bailey, but the boy hadn't the slightest idea what was going on.

A woman stepped out of the car. She had to be somewhere between thirty and forty years old and she had the flair of an advanced equestrian. No need to wait for assistance. The woman started to open the trailer. A lipizzaner came forward. Automatically Will took her luggage and gave the woman directions where she could put her horse.

The riders secured their horses to the fence so they could meet this new person. John took the woman by the arm and leaded her to the house.

'Later, kids, later,' he said. 'I need Jeni first.'

It was a strange story and no-one, except the grown ups who followed John to the house, did understand what was going on. Only Will hadn't been surprised, but he went with the adults. The kids resumed their training, but none was really focused.

Something had changed at Horseland and not in a positive way. A year ago a famous producer had chosen the area around the riding school to be the set of his new series. The story was about a fantasy-themed adventure with stunts and a lot of horses. A whole lot of horses. A bunch of them were stabled at Horseland, the others at Jim's Ranch. Horseland was also the place where Irina, the person in charge of the horses and animal related stunt doubles, put her head quarters. This also brought the famous actors Lisa Winterfell and Tim Belwer to the riding school for more than a few lessons. A third lead role was for an unknown actress called Naneha Ederan. She would never win an Oscar, but the Olympic gold medal for cross country was within her reach.

Back to the riders at Horseland. Irina asked Will to teach Lisa and Tim the basics of riding, an offering he didn't refuse.

Good times. Good times.

It took the team(s) nine months to finish filming. Nine months of bustle, chaos, friendship, tears and much, much more. After that they packed and they left. It had left a gigantic hole in the hearts of the riders, the horses and in Horseland itself.

Mostly the horses missed the young twins, Sugar and Milk, who were always up for a stirring situation, but in a good way. Not in a Chili and Pepper way.

The riders missed the old Will. Or better said: the new old Will. Before the filming and the whole shebang he had been the calm young men who you could depend your life on and who never lost the importance of the horses wellbeing. With the animal stunt crew at Horseland, the kids had seen a completely different side of him. Passion. Tons of passion. Yes, they knew Will was a born leader, but not like this. He leaded up, regulated and motivated all those teams who where involved like he had never done anything else in his life. In reality, he never had done something like this big before in his life. It took Will one month when the producer heard his name from Irina, Lisa and the other members of the crew. No longer had the young man to work in Horseland name. Now he would be paid for all the extra effort he put into the series. The kids had never seen their instructor smile and laugh so many times.

After the crew left Will changed to his old self again. Still passionate about horses, still kind and understandable, still calm in every situation, but his smiles and laugh became rarer and rarer. Will refused to talk about it with the kids. It made Sarah nearly sick of worry. What happened with her Will? The good friend she actually liked more than only a friend? The young man really needed to open up in her eyes and maybe he was willing to do so, if she would do too. Only, how would she tell him?

Sarah had told Nani, Molly and Alma about her feelings for Will (as if they hadn't figured that out for a long time). Bailey heard the conversation (he wasn't surprised either) and of course Chloë en Zoë caught the news too. So, whole Horseland knew about Sarahs crush except the young man it was all about. With the support of her friends Sarah, heavenly blushing, entered the barn.

'Will!' Bailey shouted. The instructor had come back from the house and the weird situation with Jeni, the newcomer, and was now getting hay loft.

'Oi, I just needed you all,' Will shouted back. He came down quit easily. 'Something is going to change at Horseland. Jeni…'

'Wait a second, Will,' said Alma.

'Sarah wants to tell you something,' said Zoë. The blonde girl turned as red as her suit. She received a poke or two to encourage her.

'What is it?' asked Will. He sounded…irritated? It's wasn't usual the young man would sneer. 'Are you all right, Sarah?'

'I…I…' started the Whitney stuttering. Oh, this was so much easier in the movies. 'I like you Will.'

Molly gave her another poke. Keep talking. Sarah didn't dare to look at the face of her crush and the attention of the others was pointed at the girl, otherwise they would have seen the deep unhappy flash on Wills face.

'I like you more than a friend, Will. For a long time actually and I hoped…'

'Sarah, stop.' Will didn't even want to hear what she was hoping for, but he dared to take a guess. The kids looked at him deeply shocked. Will had the feeling he had to come of with a declaration of love from his side really soon, but he couldn't.

'I'm leaving.' Finally, he said it. Not the answer anyone had counted one. 'I'm leaving Horseland.'


	2. One damn week

**Sorry, Sarah. I always liked you as a kid, but as I grew older and developed some writing skills it appeared that the persons I loved had to suffer the most. Will, you are warned.**

* * *

'I'm leaving.' Finally, he said it. Not the answer anyone had counted one. 'I'm leaving Horseland.'

'What…?' said Sarah with tears in her eyes. The others girls seemed to be of capable of murdering the young man and Bailey was really pissed off. 'You're leaving? Because of me? Because of what I just said?'

'Of course not, Sarah,' Will sighed. He would love to give her a hug, but it had probably the wrong effect. 'Everyone, sit down for a moment, please.'

Without a word the girls and his cousin did as he said. Besides Sarahs sobbing the stable was dead silent.

'Chris Ederan, the owner of GreenFire, offered me an internship at his business so I could learn more about riding, horses and instructing. John thought it was a good idea and well…I have the same opinion. Jeni will be your instructor while I am away. '

'And for how long will that be?' Bailey asked, insulted that nobody had told him anything.

'Two years.'

Eyes shot up. Was Will serious? Would he leave Horseland for two whole years? A Horseland without Will seemed…well…incomplete.

'Two questions, cous. One: why didn't you tell use earlier? And two: why did you take the offer? This is Horseland, your home! I'm sure mum and dad would have loved to give you the training you wanted. Besides that your family is here, your friends are here. Everything that you know is here.'

'And that is exactly the point! I didn't tell you, because I knew you would react this way! I want to gain more experience and they offer it at GreenFire. There, they don't have six to ten riders who come everyday at the stable year after year. I can get my certificates there. I can…' Will stopped himself from talking. It wouldn't be fair to take out his frustration on the kids. He wanted to leave, but most reasons were caused by something he didn't want to tell them. That was something

between him, John and Ava Marie.

Now that he told everyone the truth (partly that is), Will felt a lot better, but Sarah was still sobbing. Poor girl. Will took her by the hands and leaded her away from the others so they could talk in private. At first, there was not much to say. Eventually she congratulated him with the internship and forced a smile.

'If you would have stayed…would you…?' Sarah asked hesitantly. Will shook his head, unsure what so say to the girl he really liked as friend, but nothing more. No. Just no. Maybe when they had been fourteen years old. At that time Sarah had stood a chance, but now…

She didn't wanted to cry, but couldn't help it. First, she tried to find some comfort in the arms of Will, but realised she wouldn't find any here. The girl run back to her friends, leaving Will alone in the tack room. Oh well, he had to polish the leather anyway. Bailey entered furiously.

'Man, what was that all about?!'

'What? The fact that I'm leaving on short notice or the hassle with Sarah?' Will answered cool.

'Ha…Both! Dammit, both! How could you do this to her? Nicest girl on Horseland and you reject her.'

'If you are interested, she is still single,' Will said while gathering the stuff he needed for polishing Johns saddle. Bailey stood there for a moment completely silent.

'Jerk!' He shouted. 'What the hell is wrong with you? You know what? You can stew in your own juices. Really, I thought you liked her.'

And with those words Bailey left the tack room as furious as when he entered. Will only sighted. Apparently, everyone had imagined that Sarah was his crush.

But had nobody noticed that he had formed a heartfelt relationship with a foxy redhead on a wild mare?

'I thought we would eat paella this evening?' John said when Will putt a bowl of pasta on the table. The blond young man showed a brief irritated face, but his voice was calm as usual.

'I didn't have the ingredients for paella,' he answered. He walked back to the kitchen to get some glasses and water for everybody. Outside it was getting dark pretty fast. Grey clouds were chasing trough the sky. A storm was coming.

'It was your job to go shopping for groceries today,' Ava Marie said.

'I was occupied by Jeni's arrival and some other things which were more important than grocery shopping. I will go tomorrow,' Will promised. Ava didn't say anything, except something about a tasteless meal.

While pushing the meat ball back and forward Will made a list in his head for the chores of this evening. Dishes of course. And laundry. More leather polishing and cleaning the tack room. Ava added a leaking tap. It was already eight o'clock. Will didn't feel much for an all-nighter.

'Care to help me with the tack room, Bailey?' Will asked. His younger cousin hadn't said a word to him since the events earlier today. Knowing Bailey, he was still angry.

'Bailey has more than enough homework to do,' Ava said. Not true. Tomorrow it would be Wednesday and the only homework the boy could have was some math, his best subject. 'You can handle it yourself, Will Taggert. It's not that much.'

'He also has to gather his stuff,' John said. 'Would be nice to use the attic for storage again.'

'It already is,' Will mumbled.

'Hmm?'

'Nothing,' said Will and he quickly took another bite of his dinner.

'He doesn't need that much stuff at GreenFire. If they want him that bad as intern they can arrange his tack too. We already have to pay for the flight ticket for you and Jimber.'

'Can't you send some of my stuff to GreenFire by mail?' Will mooted.

'If that griper Chris pays for it, it's fine by me.' Will didn't dare to share his opinion about "gripers" and "riding school owners", but Chris was not that kind of person.

Bailey had enough about the whole table conservation. He stood up and went to his room.

'Bailey!' John called after him.

'I think that he is upset about the sudden changes,' Will said.

'Are you his mother?!' Ava sneered.

'No, but…'

'Than don't interfere with things you don't know anything about. It's you fault the boy is upset and, as usual, John and I have to clean up your mess!'

And with those words Ava followed her son. John put away his bowl of pasta. On his mobile phone Will saw the app for the pizza delivery service.

'Get to your chores, boy,' he said before leaving the room. Will took the dirty dishes back to the kitchen. The cutlery clattered in the sink. One week. One damn week until he would be released of those two.

* * *

 **Question for the readers:**

 **I have a bit of a problem with the chronological order of the story. I want to see Will and his arrival at GreenFire, but at the same time I would like to tell you what happened when the animal stunt crew was at Horseland. (The story started in the middle as you might have noticed :-) )  
**

 **In the first situation I would have countless of flash backs and a lot of explaining to do to make any sense. This really slows down the pace of the story. The second option promises a more chronological storyline, but yeah...I've already done that a few times.**

 **So what are your thoughts as reader/writer?  
**

 **Kind regards,**

 **Idelle (Marieke)**


	3. Emails

**So, I went with the more chronological order with an occasional flash back/forward. Thanks for the feedback Flashimo, it's appreciated.**

 **It's a bit of a slow chapter, but I needed it to build up some speed for the next.**

 **Two years ago**

Half pas five in the morning. Blindly Will turned off the clock radio before getting out of bed. Angora turned around one more time. Lucky cat, but hey, she kept him warm at cold nights.

Will tiptoed from his cold attic room to the pleasing bathroom, taking some clean clothes en route. The warm water from the shower chased the cold of the night from his body. The winter must not get much thougher, Will thought, or else he had to sleep on the couch in the living room again. As long as Angora stayed with him for the nights the cold was bearable. Maybe he should sneak Shep upstairs too. He wasn't allowed to do so, but he was the first to rise in the morning and the last to find his bed in the night. John and Ava wouldn't discover it.

Will stepped out of the shower. The white, soft towels were left aside. They smelled a bit like roses and Ava didn't want the barn scent in them. In other words, Will had his own towel. He found the thing between the dirty laundry. He really need to do that today, but first: breakfast. A cup of tea and two slices of bread were consumed while the young man tried to read a few pages of the fantasy book Alma let him borrow. Another thing he really needed to improve: his reading skills were horrible. Stuff regarding horses and everything needed to keep Horseland running he recognised in words, but outside the familiar subjects he had difficulty to keep track of the tornado of letters in his head. Not that Will found much time to read. Usually at breakfast and that was it. Otherwise he was working or to tired to do something.

Will tidied up his stuff like he had never been there. After that, it was time to check the horses. It would be a silent week for Horseland with all the exams coming up. Maybe the girls would come for a quick visit in the late afternoon, but Will had already received email from parents asking him to take care for the horses so their children could focus on their school. Not that Will minded. Taking care of the horses was his favourite job and it was a good excuse for not doing the other, more boring, chores.

'Morning, Shep,' Will said while entering the barn. 'And good morning Jimber, Aztec, Scarlet, Button, Calypso, Sunburst, Chili en Pepper. It's going to be a bit of a boring week with all your riders studying, but I will try to give you enough exercise. The good news is that I found the horse ball again.'

Yes, Will knew all to well he was talking to the horses, and other animals as well, but they were good company and even better listeners.

'Let's get you all out, so I can clean your boxes.'

After the horses were put in the pasture, Jimber stayed with his owner while the young man was doing his morning chores. Jimber was in a funny mood this morning. Poking Will whenever he bent over to get something or making an attempt to get the hidden sugar cubes out of his riders pockets.

'Maybe John will let me go to school in a few years. When Bailey has completed his study I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I would learn some more. Would be nice to pick up some managing skills along the way. I don't think that John wants me to study to become a horse vet, but I would love to learn more from doctor Martin.'

Jimber neighed in protest. Will only shook the hay out of his hair, before letting a deep breath escape.

'Don't worry, boy. I am going nowhere without you. Besides that, I don't think I would make a good vet, but I would love to own a riding school. Maybe one day together with Bailey.'

Will stared a moment into the nothing, his thoughts drifting down a lane of memories.

'If I was studying, I could make some new friends. People of my own age. And there would be a party when I got my diploma. We would sit around a camp fire. Chase can teach me how to play guitar and maybe Linia would come over. Heck, maybe the guest would not only be friends and family, but also a girl. Wouldn't that be nice, Jimber? Like how mum took care of the horses when dad had to work. I really hope I will someone like that one day.'

'Hé John, can I check my email?' Will asked after a morning trail with Jimber.

'I don't know. Is breakfast ready?' John asked sitting in his favourite chair. Will passed him his coffee and newspaper before starting the pc.

'It's ready since half pas seven,' the young man answered, but John was not a morning person and if you would say one word more than necessary he would start a fight with anyone. John mumbled something which sounded like an alright.

Will logged in. Lots of email today. A few invoices from François, the owner of the biggest equestrian shop in the neighbourhood and doctor Martin, together with some other stuff.

After those emails were answered or send on to John the fun part came. Friends and acquaintances.

Alexander was fishing for riding tips to impress Alma. Jesse Golden wanted to know when Bailey would answer his phone, but the boy had changed numbers. Strangely enough, it was always Will who got those emails. Apparently his email dress was drifting around in the equestrian world.

After answering those two, it was Talia Bentleys turn. As one of the biggest rival of Horseland Will rather kept silent about contacting her, but she had some amazing connections she was willing to share with Will. It was a rather strange story about how this came to be, but that is something for another time. Simbala was another case of "How did they get my email address?". Probably from one of the girls, but her tales from India were really fascinating.

At last there was the weekly mail of Linia and the daily mail of Chase, the only two people Will considered as his best friends.

 _Hey loverboy,_

 _Still got problems with all those ships? First Sarah and now that Bentley-girl. I won't try to steal Alma from Alexander, but one the other hand he is not going to stop you. You have an expensive taste, Will, but knowing your fabulous nature the girls fall for you like leaves in autumn._

 _Well, keep me up to date and when you decide to break Sarahs hearth, give me a warning beforehand._

 _Your trusty matchmaker,_

 _Chase_

 _Sæll Will,_

 _How is it going there? I asked my parents if I could come to Horseland again, but in the next months I will be travelling Europe. After that it will be Christmas. Maybe next summer._

 _…_

The email of Linia continued with a more serious theme then Will was in the mood for this morning. He would answer her in the night when all others already went to sleep. It was a pity she didn't have time to visit Horseland, but on the other hand Iceland was hell far away.

Still, Will would love to have his best friends come over at the same time so they could meet each other, talk and laugh.

'Had any interesting mail?' John asked from behind his newspaper. Knowing from experience the owner didn't want to know about the invoices, but about the young mans contacts.

'Not really,' Will answered. John didn't need to know that Will complained about his foster parents from time to time. Or that there were other people who knew about the true cause of his parents death. Or certain things about Bailey and the girls. Heck, there were a lot things Will trusted Linia and Chase with. Probably the reason they were best friends.

'Got mail from the princess?'

'Yeah.'

'Ask her if she wants to come to Horseland again. We can use the publicity.'

'I will,' Will promised.

'Didn't you catch her eye?'

'Whose? Linia? She has a stable relationship with a guy for two years.' John looked troubled for a moment.'

'Keep close to her,' he said. 'And also keep the Whitney's close.'

Will didn't know how to interpret this information. He decided to let it slide. At the moment he wanted to logout there was a bleep. New message? GreenFire. Never heard of it, but he had heard of the subject of the mail: Starlight Productions.

'What's wrong?' John asked when he saw Will troubled face. 'Another bill from Martin?'

'No. Does the name GreenFire ring a bell for you?'

'Yes, it's a riding academy who is also active in the film industry. Why do you ask?'

'I've got mail from them.'


	4. A lot of news

_Dear mister Taggert,_

 _my name is Irina-Ederan, co-owner of the GreenFire Academy and head of the movie and television department. Maybe you're familiar with the movies "The Horse Whisperer", "Lucky Luke" and the series "The Highland Elves". GreenFire had the honour of taking care of the stunts involving horses._

 _There is another big project for us coming up in the near future in cooperation with Starlight Productions and the shooting will take place in the area around Horseland._

 _I cannot expect that my beloved horses will love me back when I use the trailer as their box for (over) a year, so I need a place where I can leave them together with all the equipment and maybe even some people from time to time._

 _Horseland was recommended by Dr. Martin. Not only for the location of your riding school, but also for the possibilities in training and instruction._

 _As you can see, mister Taggert, I need a place where I can shelter, train and instruct horses, people and equipment and with a big budget series coming up, it also comes with the additional chaos._

 _Contact Nick Nots from Starlight Productions can give you the details about the series and the budget if you're interested, but the good man knows nothing about horses. That's the reason why I would like to make an appointment with you at Horseland to discuss some things._

 _I'm looking forward to your answer and hopefully our collaboration._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Irina Ederan-Horset_

John's surprise gave Will the time to read the whole mail. As the young man finished the last words, his foster parent let a sigh escape. In the appendix where the telephone numbers of Irina and another person named Chris Ederan. Good change it was her husband. Together with some links to the website of GreenFire Academy and the email of Nick Nots.

'Why did they approach you and not me?' John asked.

'I don't have a clue,' Will answered. 'Did you put the right e-mail on Horseland's website?'

'Of course I didn't, but that's not an answer to my question.

'There are so many people who've got my e-mail. Simbala could give it to the president of India and he could mail me if he was bored,' Will said. Really, it was not even eight o'clock in the morning and John started making havoc already.

'That Irina-woman thinks your are the owner of Horseland. What did you trumpet forth?'

'Nothing. Everyone knows that I'm your cousin who works here as the Jack of all trades. Do I have to

call Irina to fix the mistake and send her to you?'

'No, not necessary. I will call her myself right now. See if the others need something before we have to leave for jobs and school. Oh, and use the pastries to make us a lunch.'

'Will do. Anything else?' Will asked. Just a regular morning, but that was everything. The young man went to the kitchen where Ava and Bailey were already getting breakfast.

'Nice meal?' Will asked.

'Mhwa,' Ava answered, but Bailey nodded with a smile and a full mouth.

'Alma won't come today. Her mother just called that Barto was hospitalised again last night. I wouldn't count on the girl tomorrow either.'

'Poor Alma,' Bailey said. Will kept silent. You could hardly call this news. The foreman of Horseland had been absent for a long time because of his chronic illness. It was just a matter of time that he would die. A horrible idea, but nothing new to the horizon for Will. Besides that, Barto was one of the biggest shareholders of Horseland. Otherwise the man had been fired (because his health) a long time ago.

And poor Button. She had to miss her owner again and knowing Alma, the horse would hardly getting the attention she needed when the girl was this upset.

'I want to start riding again,' Ava said changing the subject completely. 'Getting some certificates, and a horse of course, and I would be able to teach you dressage.'

'That's great news, mum. We could go on trail rides together just like before,' Bailey said. Will listened to the conservation while making the lunches. He couldn't figure out if Ava on a horse would mean more or less work for him. Oh, why did he bother? A new horse was always welcome, even it was Ava's.

'Irina will come to Horseland next week!' John yelled through the kitchen. The three people looked up. No-one had seen John ever be so happy on a morning. He was practically dancing from joy.

'Who is this Irina?' Ava asked. She had a eternal suspicion for woman in riding pants, especially if they (the woman, not the pants) where looking better than her.

'Only the person who makes us rich in return for a year of chaos, but we can manage it. First, we three will go to a restaurant this evening to celebrate this,' John said and he kissed his wife on her cheek. Ava rolled her eyes. That Irina better had to be ugly.

'What about Will?' Bailey asked.

'I'm too busy,' Will answered to the truth, but if no-one was at home this evening, he could secretly skype with Chase.

'You understand that Horseland has to look as good as new within a week?' John mentioned.

'If I can use your car, I can get some buckets of paint in the city.'

'No chance. You always pick the wrong colours,' Ava said. 'I will get some paint tomorrow.'

'Is also fine, but aren't you all supposed to leave before 8.45?'

John cursed, ran upstairs to put on some clothes and left with his family a few minutes later. Bailey would be in school 'till four. Ava had her shop in the city and John was visiting his contacts and other people. Will would have Horseland for himself until the riders came and before that, everything had to be ready. The first lessons would start in a hour, but this bit of busyness was only a flake of the storm which would come.


	5. Cherry Good

Caribi liked to travel with her rider Irina. Especially when they were going to turn everything upside down. The thing she liked most was that this was precisely the idea of Irina. A good stable, one which could handle the chaos of the movie industry, was not easy to find and if they couldn't handle one sabotaging ederan, Irina would move one.

Yes, Irina and Caribi could be a devilish duo if they wanted to be.

What the ederan also enjoyed was the fact that she had whole horse truck for her own. That would be different in the future. Then she had to share it with Max and Snow Storm. Not that Max was a problem. They could have named the horse "Graveyard" for his character, but Snow Storm hated to travel by car. Luckily enough for Caribi, Snow Storm had to stay in Scotland for a little while longer, but her rider Naneha, called "Vixen" by everyone, was her mothers second opinion and was also on the truck.

Caribi stared a bit trough the window. The highways were left behind and now the ederan could see the rural areas. Forest and grasslands. In the background were some mountains. It all seemed a bit tame. Most stables Caribi had visited didn't have a fence of 2.5 metre. GreenFire needed one for keeping predators out and the horses in. Here, the ederan didn't expect much predators. Anyway, she didn't expect anything she didn't dare to give a kick.

After a bit more analyzing and day dreaming, Caribi spotted Horseland. Nothing special in her eyes. It lacked an indoor riding place. The truck started slowing down and stopped eventually on the drive of the riding school.

'Good afternoon!' Caribi heard her rider saying. 'Give me two seconds to calm down my horse.'

Irina appeared in the trailer part of the truck. She had brought two seedless cherries with her which were more than welcome.

'We won't go easy on them, girl,' Irina said. 'I don't want to give that macho of an owner his money that easily and while we are here, we can participate in Stanhope's dressage contest.'

Happily Caribi made a piaffe on her place. There was one thing she liked more than turning things upside down and that was dressage. She would get that trophy for sure.

Irina left her alone to greet her host. Through the window Caribi could see that Vixen had met up with a blond boy. Not an adult, experienced stable manager, but a wean. Was this the way of Horseland taking care of important guest? Not a very good first impression.

The tailgate was opened by Vixen, but it was the wean who was sent inside to get her.

'Hey girl, how was the journey? Long? Don't worry. I've got a clean box for you with fresh water and good food.' He said. Credits given were earned, Caribi had to say that the wean was calm.

Okay, first things first. Did he had cherries? If so, she would annoy another person. Not this wean. He would be cherry…very…good. The ederan curiously sniffled the young man everywhere where he could hide something good. Dog traits in the left pocket, keys in the other one, but no cherries. Did he just touched her? Carefully petting her? What was he thinking?

'Careful, she bites,' Vixen warned. Bummer.

'Really?' The wean took calmly a hold on her halter but Caribi had already enough of it. With a surprising force she pulled herself free from his grip and attempted to bite him. Not hard, but enough to put him in his place. Damn, he was quick and Caribi received a correcting tap on the nose. Stupid wean. She snorted irritated. With more confidence she would credited him, he lead her out of the truck into the open space of Horseland. Irina was walking towards them.

'She hot headed, isn't she?' the wean said.

'Like a tropical storm. Can you put her in the meadow? I'm quit sure she'll break out if you put her in her box right now,' Irina said.

'I see this is a horse with a manual. Would you be so kind to give me the details about her, miss?'

'Her name is Caribi and she is mine, not my daughters. Don't ride her, don't pet her, don't groom her. Just let her be and maybe she will be in a better mood tomorrow.'

'Okay? Anything else? If I put her in one meadow and our horses in the other, would that be alright?'

'Yeah, no problem. She doesn't bite other horses, only strangers. Oh, and keep the kids away for her.

I will introduce Caribi later to you all, but I guess that John wants to start the meeting,' Irina said. Caribi was confused. Normally her owner would never tell anyone, let alone a stable boy, so much about her horse's character. Did Irina like him? Caribi didn't know anymore what her rider wanted her to do and she muzzled her nose in the hands of the woman. As in a reflex Irina started talking to her. That warm voice with the sharp edge. It said to her to be good. Be good. Be good. Alright, she would be good. Be good.

They walked past the meadow with the other horses who where happily greeting her. A dog, a cat and a pig were following the wean, but didn't walk in her way. Be good. Be good. It wasn't her nature to be good in the hands of a stranger. It felt downright wrong. While holding her with one hand, the wean opened the gate with the other one. Again Caribi pulled herself free from the weans grip, letting him fall on the ground in surprise, but quickly realizing that she could escape any moment.

Caribi didn't want to escape. He just had to keep his hands for himself. On her own she walked into the fenced meadow and let him close the gate, but not without another bite-attempt.

She received another tap. Quick and consequent. The wean switched his attention to the palimo stallion who seemed upset. After he had calmed down the animals, he left them there alone.


	6. Palimo Problems

The ederan felt bored till the bone. Today the grass was tasteless and she couldn't see anymore hay or other yellow stuff. To be honest, Caribi just was hungry for sweets. It's was only a pity there was nothing to snack here. What was left was dressage or company. Also not in the mood. A trail ride would be welcome but both Irina and Vixen went with the owner of this stinking riding school.

Besides that, the horses at the other side of the fence didn't seem to welcome her company, probably because of that bite towards the wean. Oh well, it was the same story in every place. Or they would forget and forgive her when they understood why she did it or she would have the company of her own herd and didn't need them anymore. Simple as that.

She could see them gossiping about her from here. Not need to hear what they were saying. Eventually a palimo American paint broke from the group and walked towards the fence.

'Hey, silver dapple. I'm Sunburst. There are some dandelions over there. Care to share?'

An interesting opening sentence, but it worked for Caribi. She followed the paint to the corner by the gate. Her companion seemed to honour his name. Although he tried to act calm he had a sunny personality and an interesting curiosity for the newly arrived horse.

'Shall I keep calling you silver dapple?' He asked. Subtle. Caribi liked that.

'My name is Caribi, my rider is the older woman Irina. Sunburst you said, wasn't it?'

'Yep. Are you a rocky mountain? Or an andalusian dapple?'

'No, an ederan. My kind is partly breed for this coat, but there is indeed some andalusian blood in it.'

'Never heard about an ederan. New breed?'

'More unknown. There are just three horse breedings in the world who could handle us. My ancestors were police horses. Since a few years we gain some fame in the movie and series industry.'

'And you?'

'What about me?'

'Are you a police horse?'

'Oh, no! Never been. I'm on television. In about a few months they will shoot the first season of a series here. Irina is responsible for the wellbeing of the horses who will be used. That's the reason we're here and my behaviour. If they can't handle one ederan, they never can handle three.'

'For real? I heard something like that from the kids, but I didn't know it was true. What is it like? A shooting?'

'Bit of a chaos, but quit nice to do. It's getting pretty funny when you're allowed to throw out of your saddle or going completely crazy.'

'What else do you have to do?'

'Running, jumping, standing still, jousting, diving, falling, pulling, prancing and go on. The series genre will be fantasy. I don't know more about it.'

'So your rider is Irina. Who is the other one?' Sunburst. In the meanwhile the other horses where listening very closely.

'Her daughter Vixen. She also rides an ederan: Snow Storm, but the mare had a foal last spring and couldn't come with us. She will be here for the shooting nonetheless.'

'Ah, interesting. My rider is Nani, the Cherokee girl with the little braid.'

'Nani, little braid, on Sunburst. Noted.'

Even the dandelions didn't taste as good as usual. She wanted sugar. Did no one here have a sugar cube for her?

'But I…eh…would appreciate it if you won't bite her,' said the American paint who didn't dare to look at her for a moment. Instead, his focus went to the kids who were standing by the fence a metre or ten away. For a moment Caribi was surprised, but than she remembered she had tried to bite the wean…twice. Oh, well, caretakers were a different story than children.

'I don't bite kids,' Caribi said.

'You tried to bite Will,' Sunburst whispered. Well, there went Caribi's last bit of appetite for the dandelions. Stupid wean.

'I went with Irina, because we want to test this place. It's my job to see they can handle difficult horses in chaotic situations. I have nothing to do with the kids and if they leave me alone, I will leave them alone. Even if they won't do that, I won't bite them. I only put the stable crew to the test.'

'But Will is our stable crew since Barto is too ill to work. Oh, hey Jimber.'

Caribi had kept the palimo stallion in the corners of her eye for a while and he didn't seem in the mood for small talk.

'Don't even dare,' Jimber said. Yup, he was a real sunshine. Caribi became a bit tired of this conversation.

'I know you have heard everything, but I shall repeat it one more time: I don't really bite. Just testing. If that Will-wean earns my respect he won't have anything to fear from me.'

'Don't you dare,' the palimo repeated. Sunburst stepped in between them and tried to get his friend away from the ederan, but both Caribi and Jimber wouldn't step down.

'I understand that Will is your rider. If he gives me some cherries, I'm sold. That's the easiest way. You think you can make him understand that?'

'Cherries? Cherries?! Will has enough problems without you. Go bite John or Ava if you want to test them, but keep away from Will!'

'Holey hay, Jimber! Give her some space. They travelled for days. She is just tired. Tomorrow we can have a good talk about this.'

'She doesn't mean it like that, Jimber. I guess she is a bit like Diablo,' said the black Arabian.

'My job is to see if Horseland can handle some difficult horses. It's just an act, Jimber, and I will never hurt anyone on purpose, but with the film crew around everything can happen. People can seriously be injured if things go wrong, especially with the twins who are easily startled,' Caribi said on a soothingly tone. Her words were lost on Jimber. He just stood there with a wrinkled up face and swung his head a few times.

It had struck the kids that something was wrong and they called for help. Caribi watched them and the horses carefully as she was not a fan of surprises. One blond girl wanted to check out the situation herself, but the wean called her back.

'Hey guys, what's going on? Didn't have a good start together?' Normally Will would have calmed down the new horse, but since Irina's orders were not to touch her he wasn't sure what to do for a moment. He could feel the tension between the animals, but there was not another meadow he could bring her to and he didn't feel much to take eight horses to their boxes so that this grumpy one could well…be grumpy alone. Jimber asked for some attention instead, but he kept Caribi in the corners of his eyes.

The ederan saw the hand of the wean disappearing in his pocket and appearing with something which he gave to the palimo.

Sugar cube?

Caribi took a step in the direction of the wean, completely forgetting the angry Jimber. She shouldn't have done that. She had reached the border of Jimber patience. He bit the ederan hard and held on.

For a moment Caribi was stunned, but after she started to feel the pain she became furious. She wouldn't take this. She really wouldn't take this. Caribi didn't even hear the words of the wean. She freed herself, just jumped over the fence and started chasing that stupid horse. Jimber fled, dodging the ederans attacks as well as he could. He didn't dare to jump over the fence. The other horses just had to make way.

'Caribi!' That warm voice with a sharp edge. She immediately listened to it. 'Here!'

Caribi felt aggrieved. She wasn't a dog, but in this situation she wouldn't dare to disobey her rider. She left Jimber for what he was, jumped over the fence again and stopped in front of the shocked Irina and Vixen. Ten metre away from them the wean tried to calm down his stupid palimo. It worked out till the certain point that someone else started yelling. Caribi startled for a moment.

'Will!' Must be the owner. A very furious owner. Quickly the wean took the lead line he had carried with him and attached it to Jimber's halter, leading the horse out of the meadow.

'Will, what's going on here?' The owner asked furiously. Then he saw the biting mark in Caribi's neck. 'Did Jimber bit Caribi? Speak up, boy!'

The wean didn't dare to look at the owner, but because of this Caribi, Irina and Vixen good see his miserable face. He seemed to be on the border of panic. Jimber didn't like it at all.

'Keep calm,' Caribi said to the palimo, partly feeling guilty for the scene. 'We shouldn't make it worse.'

Jimber only nodded in understanding, but he still wanted to flee from the whole situation. His rider thought the same. After a quick check to see if his horse was alright, he jumped on his back.

'There is a first aid kit in the left upper locker in the tack room,' the wean wrung out. 'The telephone number of doctor Martin is on the box if it's needed.'

'Will!'

The wean spurred Jimber. Together they fled into the woods, leaving Horseland in bewilderment.


	7. Crocodile

The ambiance in the Horseland house was everything except enjoyable at the moment. Every human was irritated and they infected the horses and other animals with it. Angora had felt the frustration in every bone of her little body. She had enough of it. Stables it was.

But after a week with Aztec, Schmidt, Annie, Dorrestein, Renate, Beckman and Thea, oh, and not to forget: the newbie Jimber Angora couldn't stand any more horse related things. Deep in the night she went back to the house, hoping to find the reason for all the irritation and some cat food. She was also sick of the rats and mousses.

No high heels in the hallway? That was different. Also no dishes in the sink and a slight smell of cleanser. Well, praise the milk. Had John and Ava argued that bad that John had cleaned the house from top till bottom? Wouldn't be the first time with those two hotheads and for sure not the last time either, but still there felt something wrong in the house. Angora found her food at the usual place and the usual amount. It was not much. They didn't want her to loose her appetite for the mice. The animal could still remember her sister who had been adopted by a nice family and had became a house cat. Would be a nice life. The grey feline had to work for her food or otherwise Ava kicked her out.

After a few sips of the tap water Angora decided to look around to find some clues. Everywhere she looked there were lacking things. Where were the papers on John's desk? What happened with the broom in the kitchen? She couldn't find it. Why were there no toys in the living room?

That must have been a hell of a fight. A passive aggressive fight that is, because her two owners never argued when Bailey was around. It made the seven year old boy really upset, so Ava and John fought each other with deadly stares, silences and sarcasm as long as he was in the neighbourhood.

Not so long ago Shep had mentioned to Angora that he feared that Horseland would come to an end if they kept arguing that much. Angora had only laughed. Like her owners she appreciated a good fight and saw the importance of letting your frustrations go, instead of keeping it all in. The collie should stop worrying that much.

Angora took the stairs and saw that the doors to the bedroom were all slightly open. She walked into Baileys room first, because this one was the closest to her. In between the stuffed animals Angora spotted the Handler boy who had taken not only his, but also Angora's, favourite animal in his arms. It was a really soft, big sheep. The back of the boy was covered by a bear, a tiger and a dog. Nearby his pillow was another bear and at Bailey's feet lay a crocodile. To complete this bunch of animals the whole wall was covered with pictures of horses, mainly Aztec's. Angora had yet to see what would became of this young stallion. John couldn't get him under the saddle as well as he would have liked to and had asked his brother Jim for help.

Nothing special here. Angora went to the room of John and Ava, expecting them to lay on the edge of their part of the bed, but instead they were spooning. What was going on in this household? Usually they were mad at each other for days. Angora had enough of it. She had searched the whole house and still no answer. Tomorrow she would come back, hide herself and see what the humans were all worked up for so she could find some peace and take her eighteen hours of sleep. Wait. What day was it tomorrow? Friday wasn't it? Today had been Ava's laundry day, so that would mean that there were waving blouses and sheets in the night breeze at the attic. That sounded like a plan to Angora even if she knew that Ava would yell at her for hunting sleeves, but the cat couldn't care less for all the trouble the humans caused Horseland the last few days. Sleeve hunting it was.

With her soft paws she run upstairs without making a sound, climbed the ladder and pushed the hatch, which was not that heavy, to enter the highest floor of the house. Ava had left the light on again. In the weak gleam of the light bulb the cat saw the many blouses of John waving kindly in the breeze. Oh, there was his favourite blue one. She would get it. Angora lowered her body, measured the distance and jumped to get her prey. With a bump she landed on the floor, the blouse between her paws.

'Ah!' The cat fled under the iron bed. Ava. Bitch. Scarring the hell out of her.

'Angora, is that you?' squeaked a voice. After that came a sob. Oh, yeah, Angora forgot that Jimber

had arrived with the boy of Alice and Mark. So Will had been the cause of all the trouble. John hated it when visit came unnoticed and even more so when they were going to stay for a while. Will and Jimber had been here since Saturday.

'Angora?' That nearly sounded like a cry for distress. No, it was a sound of distress. Angora left the safety of the bed and walked towards the source of the sound. She found Will in the corner of the attic where he was sitting against the washing machine with a face stained by tears. When he saw her his mood seemed to lift a bit.

'Were you hunting sleeves again?' the ten year old boy asked. The distress had left his voice, but still Angora could smell the fear. Yup, this must have been the reason for all the trouble. Although Angora was a drama lover, she wasn't a fan of this kind of drama. This, as she could sense, was serious.

The cat looked at Will. The boy looked at Angora. Angora swished her tail. The boy rubbed his face. Then Angora fled from the attic. This was completely wrong. Where were Alice, Mark and the old Harold? She hadn't seen them when Will and Jimber came to Horseland. Usually they came with the whole family. Oh, whatever was going on with the humans it made Angora feel sick.

Standing on the floor with the bedrooms Angora checked if she wasn't being followed, which wasn't the case. The whole house was silent. Good. Back to the barn with Shep and the others. It wasn't the company Angora was waiting for at the moment, but at least it was company. She wouldn't have to sit next to a washing machine. What was wrong with the bed anyway? At this time he should sleep, not weep. Maybe he would go to bed if he wouldn't feel so alone on the attic Angora thought while she walked past Baileys room. She sighted. Why did she even care?

Angora stepped into the boys room and took the crocodile from the bed. Then she went to the attic again.

'Angora, are you there again?' Will squeezed. Yes, yes, she was coming. With the stuffed reptile as a prey between her fangs Angora manoeuvred between the waving sheets, blouses and other laundry. She found the boy on the same place, sitting against the washing machine. He seemed a bit surprised when he saw her with the crocodile. Good change he recognised it as Bailey's.

Angora put the stuffed animal at his feet. Well, that was it. In all her strange moods she had done a good deed and now it was up to the boy to do what's left. To encourage him to go to sleep she marked him quickly. Than she wanted to leave, but Will picked her up, put her on his lap and hugged her in a way she couldn't escape. The cat started protesting. This was not the plan! In all her goodness she had brought that crocodile upstairs, but the cat herself wasn't a stuffed animal. She was a farm cat who woke up with morning dew in her fur, slept in the hay and hunted on rats and mice. Her sister was the lazy house cat, but Angora was not. She was strong, she was independent, she was clever and the boy…the boy was warm and soft and kind and with every beat of his heart Angora felt the boy became calmer. Maybe it was better if she would stay this night. And maybe tomorrow too. Just to be sure.


	8. Moving on

p class="MsoNoSpacing"It hadn't even take one hour before Will's concern for Caribi became bigger than his fear for John's anger. He rode back, still in conflict with himself, but knowing this was the best thing he could do./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'What happened, boy?' He spoke to his horse, more to calm himself down than the animal. 'Did she get under your skin?'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Will saw the horse felt guilty. He responded to everything immediately, but not in the relaxed way he usual did. Poor Jimber had only tried to protect his rider from the threat he saw in Caribi. It wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last time, but the young man could only be grateful for the horse who would take a blow for him. Still they were both in trouble for the scene they caused. Like really in trouble if Irina had left. The state would be too small and Will would see himself emigrate to Timboektoe or something so he really hoped that the woman was able to close an eye for this./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Will!' He heard Bailey yell. The young man looked behind and saw his favourite Horseland riders following him. He couldn't do more than just smile and wave, but truly he was happy that they were worried about him. For no reason though. He would always come back to Horseland. The group caught up with him. /p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'You're alright?' Sarah asked to her instructor as well as to the horse./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'We're alright. Just needed a bit of fresh air to clear our minds,' Will said while patting Jimber on the neck./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'What came over Jimber? He never acts like this,' Molly asked./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'I don't know. Maybe he really doesn't like Caribi. Heck, if that horse is like that stable boy from Stanhope I would bite too,' Will laughed. The others did too./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Is…Irina still at Horseland?' The young man asked carefully./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'That would be a miracle. You know that GreenFire works for the BBC? Most of the series were they use horses Irina is in charge,' Chloe said./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'I guess she is used to a better welcome than this. I mean, hello, GreenFire is the cherry of the cake at the subject of movie horses,' Zoe added./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'That's not true. There are many more companies who train horses for movies and series,' Alma stated./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Yes, but how many have a fixed contract with the BBC?'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Oh, come on. You're not going to tell me that every horse I see at the BBC comes from GreenFire,' said Nani./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Every horse that has to do more than pulling a carriage or carrying a person: yes. They were trained at GreenFire,' Chloe said./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Nope. Still not true. According to Wikipedia…' said Molly while watching her phone, but she got interrupted by Will./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Girls, shall we get back?' Will didn't want to hear anything more about how he screwed up everything on the first day. Hopefully Chloe and Zoe would drop the subject and they could have a nice ride back to Horseland, although the young man couldn't relax with all the thoughts./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Dad is going to be so mad at you,' Bailey whispered. He and Will were the last two of the group. The girls were riding before them. Will noticed that Sarah, who was in front of them, was especially quiet. Probably she was eavesdropping. /p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing" 'I know.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'You shouldn't have run away. It makes matters worse,' the boy continued. 'You're the one who taught me that.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'I know.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Is that the only thing you're going to say? I know, I know,' Bailey said irritated./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'What more is there to say? I just hope that Caribi is alright and Irina will give John the contract. If not…'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'You're under house arrest. That's for sure,' Bailey predicted./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'I know.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Bailey looked at his cousin who just led Jimber lead the way. The young man himself stared into the nothing, his face a mask who didn't gave the slightest clue if he was relaxed, nervous, angry, irritated of something totally different. Bailey sighed. He didn't want another fight at home, but Will always seemed eager to start one with John and Ava. He had to admit that his parents weren't also the/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"easiest, but still there never had been fights when he was young. When Will had come to Horseland, Bailey had heard a lot more arguing than ever before. But, and this was an important but, Bailey cared for his cousin very much. The Handler boy couldn't even imagine what is must be like when your parents move to Syria and you can't go with them, because of the instability of the Middle East./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'How is uncle Mark doing? Is he still in hospital?' The boy informed. Will nodded silently./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'He's stable. Mum is with him. The doctors say that they will leave him in coma for two more days. After that things should get better.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'You know we're here for you?'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'I know.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'And Sarah and the others, they will also be there when you need them,' Bailey said. Still that mask on the face of his cousin. /p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'I know. Don't worry.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'What's with me?' Sarah asked./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'That we'll be all here for Will when he need us,' Bailey said. The blonde looked at the young man suspiciously./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Do you need us?' she asked with two very caring eyes. 'I'm sure Irina would listen to reason if…'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'No, no, it's nothing,' Will said very sure. 'I can handle it. Nothing to worry about.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'But Sarah, can you bring some liquorice from the candy store for Will? I'll pay you back,' said Bailey. His cousin gave him a mixed look, thankful and annoyed at the same time, because sometimes the Handler boy knew how he could make his cousin happy and one of those ways was giving him some candies, especially salt liquorice./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Sure, no problem.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Shall we have a race? If I win, Bailey, you do the dishes tonight,' said Will./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'You're so going to lose, cous.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"But Bailey's words weren't even cold or the two blond people were galloping back to the riding school, leaving the boy with a huge leap to catch up to. He smiled. When they came back (and Bailey had to do the dishes after dinner) Caribi was fine, Irina was still there and there were no hard feelings. Apparently it had happened before and the woman was only glad that also Will and Jimber were alright. John, on the other hand, was still furious, but the only thing Bailey could catch was house arrest and weeks. Sarah should bring a big bag of liquoric./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing" /p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Horseland riding school, good evening. You're speaking with Will Taggert.' The young man had heard his phone ringing when Irina and her daughter entered the house, the rice was on the point of boiling over and Angora wanted to steal some of the meat on the countertop. It seemed to be the same story everyday./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Good evening, Will. This is Charles, Sarah's father.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Ah, hello, mister Whitney. You've got a moment?' Will said. He walked away from the stove, waved to Ava that he had to take this call and left the room, because Charles had the habit of talking really loud on the phone./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'How can I help you today, sir?'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Sarah just came back and she seemed really uneasy. Did something happen today at Horseland?'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Will sighed so silently that the man at the other end of the line couldn't hear it, but still he had so enough of this day. It was a pity there were "only" six hours more before he could go to bed. The young man explained the situation with Jimber, Caribi and Irina without much enthusiasm and thought that would be enough to calm mister Whitney's concern for his daughter. He sounded relieved somehow that the problems of today weren't directly involved with Sarah, but he still wanted to say something about the whole situation. Will had seen the words coming from the moment the man had say "Hmm…."/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Will, you're a good kid and I know that I can trust you. You remembered what I told you about Sarah's mother and why my daughter came to Horseland?' said Charles. Directly he answered his own question 'Of course you did. I told you many times and I know that Horseland can't protect my daughter from all the negativity which occurs around her house, but still, Will, and I asked you this before, can you keep your own problems a bit more…discrete? So Sarah won't notice. She's a very sensitive girl and cares a lot about you. Well, you know her.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"Will stared out of the window of the living room. There was a big rain cloud above the forest ready to drop it's water right on Horseland. Shep and Teeny were walking to the stables, but Angora had chosen to stay in Will's neighbourhood although she could hardly be called friendly when others were around especially strangers./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'I will try, mister Whitney.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Thank you, Will, also on behalf of my wife. You're a good boy.' With that the conversation ended. Will put his old Nokia in his pocket, turned around and nearly walked in on Irina's daughter who was leaning against the door./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'I can hardly call you a boy,' she said eyeing him curiously from toe to top. Somehow it made Will blush lightly. He turned around again to search for something that would be an excuse so he wouldn't have to make small talk. He had never been good in talking about the weather and such others things. Restless he took some magazine from the coffee table and put them back in order./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Well, yeah, I'm sixteen, so…yeah.'/p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'That was the only thing I heard when I wanted to enter to room in case you wondered.' His thoughts hadn't even come that far, but now she mentioned./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Can I help you…Hannah?' Will guessed. He had heard her name only once. Now he had forgotten it./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Naneha,' she answered with a vague smile. None made an attempt to shake each others hands or something like that. They were just standing there in the living room looking at each other like you would look to a horse like Caribi, all could change in a second./p  
p class="MsoNoSpacing"'Will, you're vegetables are starting to burn!' Ava yelled from the kitchen. Hastily Will passed the redhead and rushed back to the kitchen. It hardly ever happened that his foster mother saved him, but today she helped him escape from an awkward conservation./p 


	9. Wicked Horse

There seem to be no end to this day. Will had finished preparing dinner, did the dishes and served coffee to everyone like he did everyday. In the meanwhile he had kept an eye on Irina. Was she mad at him? Would she cancel the contract? John had told Ava about what happened and now the young man was receiving deadly glares from her. Six weeks under house arrest.  
Everyone was sitting in the living room. Bit of reading, bit playing on the mobile phone. From time to time Ava or John remembered something, another chore for Will, which they shared with their nephew and that was it. Still, it was Will's favourite time of the day. Tea, coffee, shelter and peace.  
At least, the evening was peaceful until Shep started barking.  
'Will,' said John, but the young man was already looking out of the window. He cursed silently before he ran to the hallway.  
'Will, did Caribi just escape?' Irina asked while she kept looking at her magazine. Damn, busted. Will could practically hear how steam escaped from John's ears. Ava and Bailey stood up to see the situation for themselves. The ederan fox seemed to be very annoyed because Shep didn't let her pass. In the hallway Will was still waiting for Irina's orders.  
'Going wonderfully today, Taggert,' said John cool.  
'It was me who closed the box,' Bailey said.  
'Accidents can happen,' were Ava's words and she kindly ruffled through her son's hair.  
'And Caribi can open those locks with ease,' Irina mentioned. She looked at her daughter who was already putting away her phone.  
'I'll go. I'll go,' she sighed. 'You remember that Caribi is your horse right?'  
'And you could use some practice in dressage,' Irina mentioned dryly. Naneha's face turned into something ugly. She didn't like the thought of doing dressage at this hour.  
'We can also go for a quick trail ride,' said Bailey. 'Come on, cous. Let's get Aztec and Jimber so we can show Naneha the area.'  
'You two can go. I need to finish the guest rooms first,' Will said which was true, but also his excuse for not having to mention to Irina that he was under house arrest.  
'I'm running a household for more than thirty years, so I can make my own bed, young man,' Irina said with a teasing smile. 'You go for a ride. Oh, and Vixen, I bet for five dollars Caribi throws you off if you're not going to do dressage with her.'  
'Wouldn't be the first time! And no bet,' said Naneha with a laugh before Bailey grabbed her and Will's arm and dragged them out of the house before John could say something.

This time Caribi had really enough of it. She had escaped her box, because she couldn't stand the other horses any longer, but now there was this stupid dog barking at her forcing her to step into the mud. Mud! Naneha came "to the rescue". Big chances she was planning to go on a trail ride. More mud. Where was Irina? The ederan fox tried to make it clear that she wanted to do dressage, but either Naneha didn't get the hint or she ignored it. Probably the second. The girl really needed to get back to her own horse.  
The two boys were tagging along. Okay, trail ride. Fine. Caribi would show this girl that she shouldn't ignore the wishes of an ederan. When Naneha put her foot in the stirrup Caribi went directly into gallop. The girl was clinging on the saddle, but didn't fall off. Maybe this has happened a bit too many times before and it didn't even surprise her anymore. Time for plan B. There was a tree. Caribi run straight to it, leaving Naneha with the choice of let go or get smashed between horse and tree. She let go.  
Caribi walked a bit further before she stopped and snorted angrily to her rider. Dressage! She wanted to dressage. Not a stupid trail ride.  
The boys had caught up with the two. Blue blouse nearly jumped from his horse to check Naneha's condition, who was still lying on the ground, while the wean made an attempt to catch Caribi, but the other boy called him back.  
'Idiot!' Aztec yelled to Caribi, but the ederan had no eye for the kinger mustang. Why didn't Naneha move? She couldn't have fallen that badly, could she? Caribi's temper disappeared like snow in the sun. She hadn't meant it that way. Poor Vixen, what had she done? Snow Storm wouldn't like this.  
With a trot the ederan hurried back to her rider. She pushed her nose in the girls face, back, hoping for a reaction. Stupid, stupid ederan. And why didn't the boys do anything? This was serious. Then Caribi smelled something. Cherries? Why, in Sleipnirs name, did Vixen bring cherries?  
Then a light bulb appeared above the head of the ederan and she covered Naneha's face with wet kisses. Vixen started to laugh.  
'Stop it. Stop it, you wicked horse! Throw me off like that. I will teach you, sourpuss,' Vixen said while she got the two, now busted, cherries out of her pocket. The wean asked if she was alright, which she was luckily and blue blouse wanted to continue riding, but Caribi still didn't want to go on a trail ride. She softly pushed her rider towards Horseland. Dressage, very, very please?  
'You can go, guys. I'll go back for dressage,' Vixen said. She hardly finished her sentence or Caribi ran happily back to Horseland. Still, she came back to pick up her rider. Naneha could use some training.


End file.
